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MCA misses the boat on Lynas
Published:  Apr 5, 2012 10:31 AM
Updated: 8:19 AM

VOXPOP 'Do we expect Chua and MCA to be sincere? I think not in my humble opinion. They will change course after GE13 is over.'

MCA urges Putrajaya to scrap Lynas plant

vox populi small thumbnail FellowMalaysian: Why is it only now that MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek has plucked enough courage to stick out his neck out against the wishes of his Umno masters and openly asked the federal government to disallow the Lynas operation?

It has everything to do with the coming GE13 and MCA's stand on this issue has contributed to more of their supporters (what's left of them) abandoning the sinking ship.

So Chua is now showing of care and concern about the views and wishes of the people. Unfortunately, it has come a tad too late and it sounds like an afterthought.

Would he risk making the same call if the election is not nigh?

Jeremy Ng: MCA is speaking up too late. All the public opposition against Lynas is due to the awareness created by the NGOs and Pakatan Rakyat. Without them, MCA would have happily and quietly gone along to support the project.

Chua is really pathetic in trying to take credit with his insincere call to scrap this project.

Rakyat Malaysia: Politicians talk in the direction where the wind blows. Now the winds of change are getting stronger and MCA is struggling to stay alive and relevant.

Do we expect Chua and MCA to be sincere? I think not in my humble opinion. They will change course after GE13 is over and say media misquoted them.

Anonymous #41706720: Chua, you mean it's not important whether the plant is safe or not? Shouldn't this be the most important point to consider before approval?

Moontime: Penang CM Lim Guan Eng has a valid point in boycotting the parliamentary select committee (PSC).

Why waste time debating, arguing and discussing the issue when the PM clearly stated that PSC will not have the power to decide the fate of the plant.

Why is it so difficult to understand? There's no flip-flopping on this issue.

ONG: Scrap the Lynas plant, says Chua. "It is not a question of whether it is safe or not safe. It is simply a case of that the majority of Malaysians are against Lynas."

In that case, scrap income tax, road tax, parking fees, all kinds of licensing fees, etc, because the majority of Malaysians are against payment of such taxes and fees.

Don't forget to disband and de-register MCA, too. Better still, do it immediately because the last GE proved that the majority of Chinese Malaysians are against MCA.

Dingy: PM Najib Razak was in China to witness a joint venture between China and Malaysia to develop a huge park. Apparently Najib had proposed a similar park be developed in Gebeng, Malaysia.

MCA took the hint that the PM is going to scrap Lynas plant. You cannot have a park together with Lynas plant in Gebeng. And the rakyat was fooled by Chua to think that MCA had changed to be the people's voice. A leopard cannot change its spots.

Joker: Who wants to bet that this is another ‘sandiwara' (act)? Umno knows Lynas cannot be allowed to run prior to the GE.

So, MCA is allowed to play 'hero' and Lynas's TOL (temporary operation licence) will be suspended after Chua's 'bold' action in breaking ranks and 'fighting' for the people.

MCA will be seen as an effective Chinese representative because despite DAP's and PKR's long protests, all it took was one statement from the hero Chua and the TOL was revoked.

After the GE, Lynas would have done some superfluous 'upgrading' and be allowed to run full steam and maybe even received compensation in the form of longer tax breaks for having to 'delay' their production run.

Spike in voter numbers also in BN seats

Onyourtoes: Can we get one argument right; it is not about the sudden spike of voters that also occurred in BN-held seats. That is a defensive and stupid argument.

It is the reasons for the increase, whether genuine or orchestrated that we should be concerned with.

The increase in voters in each of these constituencies, if orchestrated, could be positive or negative in impact, depending whether your supporters or opponents were being shifted there.

The most important thing is to find out the real reasons for the increase.

Fairnessforall: The spike in numbers in BN seats is because BN know if they do not put in phantom voters in their areas, they will end up losing even what they have now.

Oscar Kilo: An increase in the number of voters is fine. After all, both BN and opposition parties have been on aggressive voter registration campaigns. But what we want to know is who these voters are.

Are they legitimate citizens or foreigners granted overnight citizenship? Are they postal votes transferred from elsewhere? And what about those cases of 100 voters registered to one address?

Headhunter: What kind of thinking is that to assume that they will only spike the opposition's strong constituencies?

All BN constituencies are in danger of losing, there's no such thing as a safe seat. They spiked the so-called BN strong constituencies because they are afraid of losing them.

The point is; spiking is illegal and it's outright cheating. BN also want to build up the number of their supporters so that they still can claim they have majority support if the election is a close call.

Anonymous #88568176: This assumption that a spike in BN seats voters list dashes Pakatan Rakyat's claims of voter relocation and re-engineering is absolute rubbish.

I wonder if the writer realises that BN and Umno fear the loss of more seats, and this is exactly what former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin and many Umno veterans have forecasted.

So why wouldn't the EC do this also to BN seats to minimise the possibility of further losses. In any case, the EC will want to demolish any Pakatan claim by claiming exactly this.

Let us use our head. The EC has proudly said in closed circles that its job is to ensure Umno stays in power.

Enough is enough to crime, corruption, fitnah, etc. Enough of Lynas. This is the last straw. Period.

Up2U: We have several registered voters in one address, our family home, but we vote in three different voting centres, for three different parliamentary constituencies.

I have voted many times and have been to three different voting centres in the past. Funny thing is I never applied for any change to the Election Commission. Guess who I voted for every time?

 


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